A sergeant in the Bermuda Regiment has appeared in Magistrates Court charged with importing cannabis into the Island.

Rodwell Symonds, 36, of South Shore Road, Warwick, was in uniform when he appeared before Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves on Friday.

He was accused of bringing the drug into the country on May 12, 2000, but was not asked to enter a plea as the matter will be dealt with in the Supreme Court. He was released on $2,500 bail and ordered to reappear before the court again on December 11. The amount and value of the drug was not revealed in court.

On Saturday evening, members of the public came to the aid of a Shopping Centre manger as he chased down a man he spotted stealing three Angus steaks.

The manger told Police that around 7.10 p.m., the thief entered the grocery store and made his way to the meat department, picked up the steaks and ran out without paying for them.

He was caught on the corner of Parliament and Victoria streets, but not without an intense struggle. However, members of the public came to the manager's assistance and helped calm the suspect until Police arrived. He was soon arrested and conveyed to Hamilton Police station.

A construction site at Elbow Beach was recently hit by thieves. According to Police, a complainant at the site told them between 8 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. on November 20, someone removed several new tools from a site container. The items included a DeWalt cordless drill, a Makita hammer drill, a Makita saw and painting equipment.

A thief with a taste for wine made off with one and one half cases of the beverage after a Smith's Parish woman discovered on Friday that someone had broken into her home. The Hidden Cove Valley resident told Police she left the wine in her garage around 8.30 p.m. on Thursday, but when she went to retrieve it on Friday afternoon, it was gone. Inquiries into this incident are underway.

A Devonshire woman may have seen the man who broke into her home and stole $300 cash and jewellery on Wednesday. The Brighton Hill, Devonshire resident reported that she returned to her home and spotted a man in the vicinity, but thought he was a caretaker. However, on entering her house she discovered that someone had entered and made off with the valuables. The suspect is described as being in his mid-20's, five feet, nine inches tall, with a medium brown complexion and a goatee. He was seen wearing a dark-coloured sweatshirt and a silver helmet and is believed to have either missing or gold teeth.

Boat owners still have time to enter the annual Christmas Boat Parade which takes place on December 14 in Hamilton Harbour.

Organiser Ian Coles said: “Getting boats to participate is always our most challenging task. We have more than 50 boats registered so far but we still hope to achieve our target of 80 boats for this year's parade. “We hope that boat owners will make an effort and come out and support the event this year by signing up to enter the parade.”

Hamilton Harbour will be closed to moving commercial and private boat traffic after 5.30 p.m. There will also be no anchor zones near the parade route. Marine Police and crews from Marine & Ports will be marshalling boats to ensure a safe and clear parade route. “Only boats entered and participating in the parade will be allowed to be close to the parade route,” said Mr. Coles.

The best place to see the parade is by being on a boat, so the organisers are encouraging companies, charter boats and individuals to join together with friends in decorating the boats. Application forms are available at Mailboxes on Par-la-Ville Road or call 295-0530 to get a faxed copy or at www.bermudaboatparade.bm.